Backyard water features can breed mosquitoes
Inside
West Nile virus is here. The Sacramento-Yolo Mosquito and Vector Control
District will check your yard for mosquito problem areas and bring free
mosquito fish for water features. 685-1022 or www.fightthebite.net/wnv/.
The city’s bus routes will
change after light rail arrives. See story, page 2.
City of Folsom
Newsletter
Published 10 times a year for the residents and businesses of Folsom
June/July 2005
Camps galore
Whatever is captivating this young camper is offcamera, but it’s clear these youngsters are
enjoying their week at the Summer Vacation Zone
day camp last year. Vacation Zone is one of dozens
of camps the Parks and Recreation Department is
offering kids of all ages this summer – the current
activities guide lists 136 choices. The Vacation
Zone, held at the Community Center for children
entering grades K through 5, includes swimming
and a field trip each week and provides extended
care for extra fees. Kids going into grades 6 through
8 can attend the weekly Cave Club at Sutter Middle
School. Or perhaps some of the specialty camps
would appeal. How about Mad Lab, Engineering
FUNdamentals, Robot Wars, scrapbooking, photography, dance, soccer, golf, fencing, puppetry or
impressionistic art? For information on the city’s
summer camps, check the activities guide or the
city’s Web site (www.folsom.ca.us) or call 355-7285.
For information on this year’s Vlade Divac/Peja
Stojakovic basketball camp, see page 3.
New trash pickup days to start in June
B
eginning June 27, your trash-collection day may
change. The Utilities Department has revised the
trash-pickup routes and schedule as a step toward
implementing its new SmartCart recycling program this
fall.
In early June, you will receive a card in the mail with a
map identifying your new pickup day. The map is reprinted on page 5.
The new plan divides the city into five pickup areas and
assigns one day to each of them. Each area, or day, will be
subdivided into six or seven routes.
See Pickup, page 5
From the Council Chambers
Bus routes, times to change with light rail
F
olsom’s bus service will take a new turn when light
rail starts running here in October. The city’s public
transit system is being redesigned to meet the
changing needs of its riders.
“Not only do we want people to be able to get to the
trains, but we want the people who get off the trains to
have transportation pretty much anywhere they want to
go,” says Kent Gary, the city’s Transit Division supervisor.
To achieve that, Gary has been working with the
Sacramento Area Council of Governments to update the
city’s short-range transit plan. The new plan will reflect the
changes in local bus services when light rail begins. Transit
operators that receive state funding, as the city does, are
required to update their transit plans every five years.
The city and SACOG recently held four public workshops and are including the feedback from them in the final
transit plan proposal to be presented to the City Council in
July. Public participation is encouraged at that meeting.
Though the proposal was still being drafted in late May,
the new plan will almost certainly eliminate the commuter
buses, end the transfer service to Iron Point and Grover
roads (Folsom High School), alter the innercity routes and
expand the Dial-A-Ride service.
The city now runs six commuter buses round trip to
Sacramento and one bus several times a day to the Butterfield light rail station. All of these buses will be discontinued. The trains will take riders not only along the Highway
50 corridor to Sacramento but also to the Amtrak station.
When light rail service begins, Gary says, it will be
important to get riders to and from the Folsom stations
conveniently. To do that, the city’s Stage Line routes are
being restructured to meet the train schedules.
Folsom will have three light rail stations along Folsom
Boulevard – at Iron Point Road, Glenn Drive and the
Leidesdorff Lid near Sutter Street. Trains are expected to
run on weekdays every half-hour from about 5 a.m. to late
evening. Service on weekends is being considered.
The revised transit proposal will likely recommend bus
routes that would take riders primarily along East Bidwell
Street and Iron Point Road with stops at the Iron Point and
historic Folsom stations and along Glenn and Wales drives
between the Glenn Drive station and the Community
Center/City Hall complex.
The buses will run every half hour during commute
periods and every half-hour or hour during off-peak times. The
specific timetables are being reviewed.
For light rail riders coming into Folsom, Gary says, the buses will include stops at high-employment centers, such as Intel and the Lake Forest Technical Center. The stop at Main
and Madison avenues will be retained to enable Orangevale
residents to get to the historic Folsom light rail station and
Folsom residents to connect to Regional Transit’s buses.
The new plan would expand Dial-a-Ride to coincide with
light rail hours. Dial-a-Ride is a call-in service that picks up
passengers at their homes. It serves seniors 55 and over and
riders with disabilities. Proof of Folsom residency is required,
and trips are by appointment only (call 355-8347).
The final short-range transit plan proposal will be available
for review at the City Clerk’s Office and in the Folsom
Library by late July. For more information on the new
bus routes, see the city’s Web site, www.folsom.ca.us
and SACOG’s Web site, www.sacog.org. For information
on the Stage Line, call 355-8395.
New plaza for train riders
D
owntown light rail
riders will meet
the trains at a new plaza
designed to be a gateway to historic Folsom.
Construction of the
plaza will begin in June
and be completed before
service starts in October.
The area, a triangle
between Sutter and
Leidesdorff streets, linked
by Reading Street, will
be “multimodal” –
meaning it will serve a
mix of transportation
uses for pedestrians,
bicyclists and tourists. It
will have benches and
shade trees, bus turnouts
on Leidesdorff Street,
automobile turnouts on
Reading Street, and
bicycle racks and lockers
on the Leidesdorff Lid.
2
Reading Street is being
rerouted and will be closed
during construction. A
detour will be set up.
Across a corner of the
plaza, special paving
resembling train tracks,
will mark Folsom’s
historic train route.
News Roundup
How to apply for
alcohol permits
Folsom law now requires
permits to consume alcohol
or carry open containers of
alcohol in public places.
The law governs such
occasions as picnics in city
parks, block parties in
neighborhoods and individuals’ alcohol consumption at public events.
The process was made
to be as convenient as
possible, even if you need a
permit on the spur of the
moment. Here are the basics:
• The fee for a permit is
$2. One fee covers everyone in your group.
• You can apply for
permits at four places: the
Parks and Recreation
Department at City Hall, the
Community Center, the
Aquatic Center office and
the Folsom Zoo. You can
access at least one of these
places any day of the week.
• A permit is good for
six hours. You can get one
in advance or right before
you need it. No waiting
period is required.
• If you’re applying for
an event permit that
requires the payment of
rental fees, the alcohol
permit will be included for
no additional charge.
• You may not have alcohol in some public places.
These are the Aquatic Center (not including Lembi
Park), Cummings Family
Park, the Ernie Sheldon
Youth Sports Complex and
children’s playgrounds.
• You can buy beer from
the Lembi Park concession
stand without a permit. The
concessionaire has a license.
* You do not need to be
with a group to get a permit;
individuals can get permits.
• You do need a permit
for a block party that
includes alcohol. You may
not have alcohol on sidewalks or streets without one.
For more information,
call 355-7299.
A milestone is reached
Folsom’s first-ever light
rail train creeps along
the tracks May 12 as
crews check the train’s
clearance. Test trains
will now run frequently
on the route, along Folsom Boulevard, until
service begins in October. Drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists are
reminded to be cautious at train crossings.
Library to break
ground Aug. 25
more Park. The concerts run
June 6 through July 29 and
feature a variety of bands.
Construction will be
suspended for the Folsom
Pro Rodeo July 2-4 for
easier access to the arena.
The park’s playground
and gazebo are open and the
train and zoo are operating.
Parking has temporarily
been moved behind the
Community Center.
The groundbreaking for
the new library is scheduled
for Aug. 25 at 4 p.m. at the
library site in Folsom City
Lions Park.
The 24,000-square-foot
library will open in the fall
of 2006. It will have
separate children’s and
adult wings, a coffee shop,
a Friends of the Library
store and meeting rooms.
The site preparation
work now going on won’t
cancel Folsom’s popular
summer activities at the
park. Picnic in the Park,
the free Friday-night concert
series, will move to Liver-
Peja and Vlade
camps in July
For the sixth summer,
Sacramento Kings forward
Peja Stojakovic and former
Kings center Vlade Divac
(now a Los Angeles Laker)
will sponsor two one-week
summer basketball camps
at Folsom High School.
This year’s dates are July
18-22 and July 25-29.
The camps, for boys and
girls 8 to 17 years old,
include competition,
individual coaching, video
sessions and lunch. Each
camper takes home a
basketball and two t-shirts.
Tips for a
healthy
lifestyle:
• Get up and move – at
least 30 minutes each day.
• Switch to healthful
snacks: Freeze individual
yogurts, bake sweet potato
wedges, replace chips
with multigrain crackers.
3
Camp proceeds benefit
The Cave teen centers and
Folsom High School.
Cost is $360 per week,
$680 for two campers or
two weeks. To register call
877/747-6877 or access
www.groupseven.org.
Library: Back to
medieval times
Folsom youngsters can
hark back to the days of
knights and castles this
summer. Their vehicle?
The Folsom Library’s
summer reading program.
This year’s theme is
“Dragons, Dreams and
Daring Deeds.”
The journey could start
with a visit to the library –
now transformed into a
medieval castle complete
with knight in shining
armor.
The adventure continues
with Fun Day programs on
Thursdays, from 2:30 to
3:30 p.m., June 9 through
July 21, at the Community
Center. No preregistration
is necessary. There’s room
News Roundup
for everyone.
Each session offers
stories and entertainment
based on the theme (in order
of dates): puppets, magic,
music, crazy crafts, zoo
animals, a “wizard training
school,” and “wild things.”
In addition, kids from
ages 0 to 18 can participate
in the library’s reading log
program. The logs are
available at the library
through July 31. When
kids turn in completed logs,
they get a prize – up to a
maximum of three. Being
read to counts.
Each child who picks up a
log also gets an application
for a free River Cats ticket.
Last year, about 2,000
children participated in the
summer reading program.
For more information,
call the library at 355-7374.
National track
meet at FHS
Top high school track and
field athletes will assemble
at the Folsom High School
track June 12 for the
Golden West Invitational
competition.
These are the finest high
school athletes in their
sport. Participants in past
meets – there have been 45
of them – have included
150 future Olympians, of
whom 75 won medals.
The events will take place
in two sessions, one at 11
a.m. and the second at
5:30 p.m. The meet is free.
Golden West has
committed to holding the
event here through 2007.
Committee focuses on customer service
T
wo years ago, the city adopted a
strategic plan that established a
mission and core values and proposed
eight goals to support them. One of the
goals was exceptional internal and
external customer service.
A new task force of city employees
has begun working to improve internal
customer service – the interrelationships
among departments. The expectation is
that “by improving our internal processes – how we serve each other – we
ultimately serve our customers better,”
says Elaine Andersen, special projects
manager, who, along with Neighborhood Services Director Amy Feagans, is
a special adviser to the team.
The “cross-functional task force” –
representing all city departments – was
recommended by a consultant who
assessed the status of the city’s internal
customer service with data analysis,
interviews, focus groups and surveys.
The group consists of 17 volunteers
chosen from 29 applicants. A steering
committee of primarily executive
management staff facilitates.
The task force met in March and
April, selected 10 top goals and divided
up into teams to work on them. The
teams will identify processes that need
improvement and develop more effective
coordination of tasks within City Hall.
“Everything this group does,” says
Andersen, “affects the public in some way.”
The 20-member steering committee
is headed by City Manager Martha
Clark Lofgren and Assistant City
Manager Jim Estep.
The members of the cross-functional
task force are Andersen and Feagans;
Leslie Anton, Public Works; Joe Benassini, city arborist; Augie Cerdan, Fire
Department; Anne Clayton, Finance
Department; Pete Czerwinsky, Utilities
Department; Josh Johnsrud, Public
Works; Oliver Kenney, Library; Jakie
Moran, City Clerk’s office; Katie
Mulhern, City Attorney’s office;
Ramona Navarrete, Administrative
Services; Loo Ng, Personnel; Lynn
Sarba, Neighborhood Services; Vickie
Stein, Parks and Recreation; Ruth
Woods, Police Department; and Toni
Wright, Neighborhood Services.
“These people,” says Feagans, “are
concerned about providing good
customer service and they’re ready to do
whatever they can to improve it.”
As one task force member expressed
in applying for the committee: “Folsom’s continued effectiveness hinges on
our ability to ensure that we never take
the ‘public’ out of ‘public service.’ ”
Task force member rolls up sleeves
Toni Wright, plans and permits coordinator in Neighborhood Services, is already working on her task force assignment. She wants to make it easier for customers with small
projects to get their permits. That means simplifying the
back-and-forth permitting process between departments and
staying with the customer from start to finish. For the 9year city employee, customer service isn’t new. Wright recently
was singled out for praise by Erika Aitken of John Laing
Homes. Through some 400 permits, Aitken wrote in a letter, Wright “never skipped a beat.” She turned around
plots fast – “which is huge. … Hats off to your building
department!” As for Wright: “What’s great for me is when
a person calls and needs help and I can help them.”
4
explaining the program and your choices. For most residents,
the standard plan, which proposes no increase in rates, gives
you a new 60-gallon trash cart and 90-gallon recyclable
cart. For most residents, also, the black carts will be converted
to greenwaste containers. City crews will apply greenwaste
stickers to these carts before recycling pickups begin.
If you prefer a 90-gallon trash cart, you must indicate
that on the postage-paid return card included with the flier
and mail it back. You do not need to return the card to get
the 60-gallon can. If you have not received the flier, call
351-3407.
About two weeks before you’re scheduled to get your
new cans, you will receive a door hanger notice with your
rollout date and instructions. Your recycling pickups will
begin the second week after you receive your cans.
Regardless of cart size, your regular trash will still be
picked up every week. Your recyclables and greenwaste will
be picked up in alternating weeks on the same day your
trash is picked up.
With the standard plan, you can increase the amount of
waste you have picked up each week from 90 gallons to
150 gallons. The 60-gallon cans need one-fourth less floor
or ground space than the 90-gallon cans, Shaw says.
Your new cans will come with a package of materials to
help you recycle effectively and phone numbers to call for
more information. The main phone number for information is 351-3407.
Pickup (from page 1)
Previously, new trash routes were assigned according to
the city’s growth, resulting in scattered collection patterns.
“The new system is more efficient and will help keep
the costs of collection lower as the city begins its new recycling
program,” says Richard Shaw, recycling supervisor. Only
four new trucks were added to the schedule despite nearly
doubling the number of waste carts in use, Shaw says.
Marie McKeeth, environmental specialist, developed the
new routing system over several weeks with the use of
professional routing software.
Rollout for the SmartCart recycling program will begin
this fall and will take about eight weeks to complete. The
city expects to distribute the new containers to 400 to 500
homes a day during this period.
You should already have received a flier in the mail
Rates public hearing June 28
A proposal for a new solid waste rate schedule will be
presented for a public hearing at the council meeting
June 28, 6:30 p.m., in City Hall. The proposal
would not increase the rate for the standard plan but
does offer varying rates for an array of options.
Tour of northern Italy, Sister City in October
Y
ou can meet residents
of Crespano del Grappa,
Folsom’s Sister City, on a
nine-day tour to northern
Italy in October. Two days
will be spent in Crespano.
The deadline to sign up
for the tour is July 1.
Crespano is in the
northernmost Veneto region
of Italy, just south of Austria.
Veneto’s capital is Venice.
He designed several of the
buildings on Sutter Street.
His home was the
salmon-colored Italianate
mansion on Folsom
Boulevard across from
Sutter Street, now known
as the Murer House. He
lived in the house from
1925 until he died in 1973.
The tour leaves Sacramento Oct. 17 and returns Oct.
The area was home to
architect Andrea Palladia,
in whose honor Folsom’s
Palladio mall is named.
The Sister City relationship, formalized in 2000,
honors one of Folsom’s
historic residents, Crespano
native Joe Murer. Murer
came to Folsom in 1910 and
brought an Italian grace to
this rugged western town.
5
25. Besides Crespano, the
itinerary includes Milan,
Florence, Tuscany and
Venice. The cost is $2,979
per person. Hotels, breakfasts and dinners are included.
If you’d like to learn
some Italian before you go,
call 355-7285 about classes
at the Murer House
For more information
on the tour, call 985-3250.
Around Town in June and July
A Calendar of Events
Special Events
Through July 10 – Locked
Down: 125 Years at Folsom
Prison. Photos, rare artifacts,
exhibits on notorious inmates,
Johnny Cash’s concert, women
prisoners, more from archives of
California’s second-oldest active
prison. Folsom History Museum.
Wednesday-Sunday 11 a.m. to
4 p.m. $2 adults/$1 teens. 9852707
June 6-July 29 – Picnic in the
Park. New location this year:
Livermore Park on Riley Street.
Free concerts featuring a variety
of bands every Friday at 6:30
p.m. Bring picnic. 985-2698.
June 7 – SmartCart Recycling
Workshop. Discussion of recycling program to start in fall. 78:30 p.m. Rotary Clubhouse,
7150 Baldwin Dam Road. 3513407 or www.folsom.ca.us.
June 9-July 21 – Library Summer Reading Program. Theme:
Dragons, Dreams & Daring
Deeds. Magic, puppets, crafts.
2:30 p.m. Thursdays. Community Center. Free. No preregistration required. 355-7374.
June 9-Aug. 25 – Thursday
Night Markets. Food, crafts,
entertainment, weekly attractions. New this year: a certified
farmers market. 6-9 p.m. every
Thursday on Sutter Street. Free
admission. 985-7452.
June 15 – MOWER Workshop.
Learn to compost, grasscycle. 6:30
p.m. Lew Howard Park. Preregistration required. 355-8393.
You will meet
residents of
Folsom’s Sister
City, Crespano
del Grappa, on
a tour to Italy
in October.
Deadline to
sign up is July
1. Crespano is
near the Alps
and 30 miles
from Venice.
June 18-19 – King of the Forest. Zoo campout with Dad for
Fathers Day. BBQ, flashlight
tour. 6 p.m. to 9 a.m. $60 one
dad, one child; additional child,
$20. Zoo Sanctuary. 351-3526.
June 25 – *Ride the Folsom
Trails. Guide-led group rides
along Folsom trails. Helmets required. 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Catlin
Park at Russi Road. $10/$15 family. Must preregister. 355-7285.
June 29 – Cultural Treasures
of Crespano. Presentation on
arts, culture of northern Italy,
Crespano, Venice. Arts writer
Patricia Beach Smith. 7 p.m.
Murer House. $5. 985-3250.
July 1 – Italy Tour Deadline.
Trip Oct. 17-25 includes Folsom’s Sister City. Call 985-3250.
July 1 – Folsom Cattle Drive
and Barbecue. Annual rodeo
kickoff event. Cattle, cowboys,
wagons drive down Sutter
Street this year. Starts at 6 p.m.,
followed by barbecue at Chamber of Commerce, 200 Wool St.
Dinner $15. 985-2698.
July 2-4 – Folsom Pro Rodeo.
Annual PRCA-sanctioned rodeo
includes bronc and bull riding,
roping, mutton busting, clowns,
fireworks, more. 7 p.m. Gates
open at 6. City Lions Park arena.
$19 reserved seats, $17 general,
$15 youth/seniors. 985-2698 or
www.folsomprorodeo.com.
Coming Up
Aug. 14 – *Folsom International Triathlon. Volunteers
needed, individuals or groups.
351-3510. For race information,
see www. japroductions.com.
Aug. 25 – Folsom Library
Groundbreaking. Kick off
construction of new library. 4
p.m. City Lions Park.
Correction: The phone
number for free irrigation
system checks was wrong
in the May issue. To have a
city expert check your system, give you advice, set
sprinklers, call 355-7252.
* ‘Get Fit in Folsom’ activities
Meetings
City Council meets 6:30 p.m.
the second and fourth Tuesdays,
City Hall.
Planning Commission meets
6:30 p.m. the first and third
Wednesdays, City Hall.
Parks and Recreation Commission meets 6:30 p.m. the
first Tuesday, City Hall.
Library Commission meets
6:30 p.m. the first Monday, Library.
Architectural Review Commission meets 7:30 a.m. the
second and fourth Thursdays,
City Hall.
Historic District Commission
meets 5 p.m. the first and third
Wednesdays, City Hall.
Traffic Safety Committee
meets 4 p.m. the fourth Thursday, City Hall.
Murer House Foundation
meets 6 p.m. the third Tuesday,
Murer House classroom.
Redevelopment Advisory
Committee meets 4 p.m. the
last Thursday, City Hall.
Landscaping/Lighting Districts meets 7 p.m. the third
Thursday, City Hall.
Arts and Cultural Commission meets 7 p.m. the second
Thursday, City Hall.
Utility Advisory Committee
meets 6:30 p.m. the third Tuesday. Location varies.
Unless otherwise noted, all
activities are in Folsom and
all area codes are 916.
Folsom City Council
City of Folsom Newsletter
Steve Miklos, Mayor
June/July 2005
Andy
Morin, Vice Mayor
Published since April 1997
Kerri Howell, Eric King, Jeff Starsky
http://www.folsom.ca.us
Martha Clark Lofgren, City Manager
Folsom radio station: 1500 AM
50 Natoma Street Folsom, California 95630 • (916) 355-7200
City of Folsom
City Hall
50 Natoma Street
Folsom CA 95630
FOLSOM POSTAL CUSTOMER
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